Bangladesh Violence: 11 More People Killed in Dhaka As Violence Escalates Over Student Protests Demanding Reforms of Quota System for Government Jobs

Dhaka, July 18: At least 11 more people were killed in Bangladesh on Thursday as violence escalated in the capital Dhaka and elsewhere over student protests demanding reforms of the quota system for government jobs, taking the toll to 18 since the protests erupted. University students in Dhaka and other cities have been holding rallies for days against the system of reserving some public sector jobs for the relatives of war heroes, who fought for the country's independence from Pakistan in 1971.

“In total, there are reports of 11 deaths. While nine of these deaths are reported from Dhaka, one is in Savar, on the outskirts of the capital, and one in south-western Madaripur district,” the mass-circulation Prothom Alo newspaper reported. Concurring with the number of deaths, the private Somoy Television channel said police continued to use rubber bullets, tear gas and sound grenades to disperse the protesters. Bangladesh Shuts Down Mobile Internet for ‘Security’ Reasons As Student Protests Over Job Quota System Continue.

Earlier, six people, most of them students, were killed on Tuesday while another death was reported overnight, taking the total death toll to 18 since the protest started more than a week ago. However, police have not yet issued a statement on the casualties. The escalated violence prompted authorities to shut the metro rail inside the capital alongside the railway services to and from Dhaka since Thursday afternoon.

The government ordered the shutdown of mobile internet networks to quell the demonstrators. Authorities deployed Border Guard Bangladesh personnel across the country including the capital, to maintain law and order, the official BSS news agency reported. Witnesses said the protesters laid a siege on the state-run Bangladesh Television Bhaban in the Rampura area in Dhaka and damaged its front side, torched several parked vehicles while some 1,200 staff, including journalists, were stranded inside.

Government offices and banks were open as paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), riot police and elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) patrolled streets in Dhaka and other major cities but the attendance appeared thin because of limited public transport. The protesters overnight vowed to enforce a “complete shutdown” nationwide after days of their demonstrations and violent clashes and ruling Awami League-backed student activists that left at least seven people dead on Tuesday. India Issues Advisory for Indian Nationals, Urges Them To Avoid Non-Essential Travel and Minimise Movement After Violent Protests Rock Dhaka in Bangladesh (Watch Videos).

Law minister Anisul Huq, meanwhile, told a media briefing on Thursday that the government decided to sit in a dialogue with protesting students. The law minister said, as promised by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday, a judicial investigation committee was formed on Thursday with High Court judge Khondkar Diliruzzaman as its head to enquire into the killing in violence.

But Students Against Discrimination, the main group behind this month's rallies, said the premier's words were insincere and “it did not reflect the murders and mayhem carried out by her party activists.” Fifty-six per cent of government jobs are reserved under the current quota system. Every year some 3,000 government jobs open up to nearly 4,00,000 graduates. The protestors are waging a campaign for the reform of the system saying it debars meritorious students' recruitment in first-class and second-class government jobs and now are demanding a direct gazette notification to this effect.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)